Berlin to get single travel app for public, private services

BERLIN — Berlin is unveiling a new app that will let people use public transport, rental bikes, car-sharing and taxis seamlessly to travel through the German capital.

The app presented Monday is the work of Lithuanian start-up Trafi and is already in use, under different names, in Vilnius, Rio de Janeiro, and Jakarta.

Berlin will be the first major European capital to get access this summer to what Trafi describes as a “level 3” app that requires only a single signup to use all services, with billing handled centrally.

Berlin’s aging transport system — a maze of underground lines, trams, buses and light rail — is straining under the weight of the city’s growth.

The capital’s left-wing government has struggled to integrate new services into the existing infrastructure in recent years. /kga